Video: Does this tweak actually make Samsung’s Galaxy Gear usable?

We reviewed Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch back in early October last year and we said it probably sports the sleekest design of any mobile device Samsung has ever produced. We also said the screen is great and the minimalistic user interface is terrific. Using the Galaxy Gear, however, is an entirely different story. The battery life is awful, the charger design is terrible, it only works when paired with a limited number of devices (it only worked with one device at the time we reviewed it) and using Samsung’s S Voice voice command system is a very, very bad experience. Samsung still managed to ship at least 800,000 of them into distribution channels, however, and some portion of those devices presumably ended up on consumers’ wrists. For those who purchased the Gear, a new tweak that debuted at CES 2014 might actually go great lengths to make the device more usable.

Typing out messages on a tiny smartwatch screen is most certainly not an optimal experience, but there is absolutely no question that it’s better in many cases than talking to your watch — especially when talking to your watch involves dealing with S Voice. As such, a company called Fleksy has ported its Android keyboard to the Galaxy Gear.

A video from Verge shows us what it’s like to use the keyboard, which is available for free but must be side-loaded onto the device. If you own a Galaxy Gear, odds are pretty good that side-loading isn’t going to be much of a problem for you.